Westminster Hall debate on local newspapers LGA briefing Thursday 19 March 2015

Key messages

- Council newsletters are an effective way of communicating with residents. Despite Government claims, there is no evidence that council newsletters are precipitating the decline of local newspapers. Councils should have the freedom to communicate with their residents in a way that meets local needs.

- Councils currently subsidise the commercial newspaper industry in the region of £26 million a year, as they are required to publish statutory notices. This requirement dates back over forty years to when local newspapers were a popular source of information. It remains in place despite the shift to online news consumption.

- Local government is working with DCLG and local newspapers to pilot innovative ways of making statutory notices fit for the future. In March 2015, the Government announced a number of pilot projects, running until August 2015.

- The LGA has long been calling for the system of delivering statutory notices to be reformed. We hope these pilots will provide easier and more cost-effective ways for people to find out about planning and licensing applications.

Background

Council newsletters

Council newsletters are an effective way of communicating with residents. 79 per cent of council publications reach 90 per cent or more of the local population. Just one per cent of local newspapers reach 90 per cent or more of a council’s residents. Councils should have the freedom to communicate with their residents in a way that meets local needs. Restrictions should not be imposed from Whitehall.

However, DCLG ministers have claimed that local authority newsletters have, in some instances, pushed out independent local newspapers. There is no evidence that council publications are competing unfairly with local newspapers, a point made by the Communities and Local Government Select Committee in their report on the subject. The general decline of local newspapers is down to the growth of the internet, falling advertising revenue and some parent companies choosing to cut staff and resources.

Statutory notices

Councils actually support the commercial newspaper industry by paying them in the region of £26 million a year to publish statutory notices. When you take into account total spend, including general advertising, councils are paying the commercial newspaper industry by nearly £44 million a year.(^1) Furthermore, 15 per cent of councils have print or distribution contracts with their local newspaper.

The statutory requirements date back to 1972, when local and weekly newspapers and radio were popular sources of local information. The last 43 years have seen vast changes in technology and shifts in consumer preferences. This requirement remains in force despite evidence to show that the public’s news and information consumption habits have changed (a move online and to mobile technology) and the circulation of local newspapers is falling.

In addition, our research shows that 42 per cent of councils are charged more by local newspapers to publish public notices than for other general advertising and the costs are continuing to rise.(^2) The individual costs of publishing a notice can be upwards of three times that for a general advert, reaching more than £20 per column cm in some publications.(^3)

**Pilot programmes**

Local authorities are working with DCLG, local newspapers and other partners to pilot innovative ways of improving statutory notices. In March 2015, the Government announced £950,000 of funding for twenty-three pilot projects, which will run until the end of August 2015.

The council taking part in the projects are:

- Birmingham City Council
- Bolton Council
- Bury Council
- Cambridgeshire County Council
- Canterbury City
- Cumbria County Council
- Dacorum Borough Council
- Dorset County Council
- East Hertfordshire District Council
- Eastbourne Borough Council
- Eden District Council
- Hastings Borough Council
- Hertfordshire County Council
- Hounslow Council
- Kent County Council
- Kirklees Council
- Leeds City Council
- London Borough of Ealing
- London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
- London Borough of Southwark
- London Borough of Haringey
- Manchester City Council
- Middlesbrough Council
- North Tyneside Council
- North Yorkshire County Council
- Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Redcar and Cleveland Council
- Rochdale Council
- Rother District Council
- Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
- Salford City Council
- Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
- Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
- Southampton City Council
- Stockton-on-Tees Council
- Stoke-on-Trent City Council
- Suffolk County Council
- Surrey County Council
- Swale Borough Council
- Tameside Council
- Telford and Wrekin Council
- Three Rivers District Council
- Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
- Wealden District Council
- Warwickshire County Council
- Watford Borough Council
- Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
- Westminster City Council
- West Lindsey District Council

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(^1) LGA research into council publications: April 2013 (^2) LGA research into council publications: April 2013 (^3) Public Notices: The Case for Radical Reform – Local Government Information Unit 11 September 2012